Work Text:
Daily life had grown monotonous. Wake up, go to work, go home, go to sleep. Repeat. You almost hoped for a change. It wasn’t likely to happen, but at least you weren’t alone. You lived in an apartment with a wall of windows facing the docks. A close friend, Chris, had been with you for years. It was nice to rarely come home to an empty apartment.
Tonight was one of those rare nights. The lights were off as you walked in. That meant they weren’t home. You could have used their warm smile today. Work had been stressful and they were always comforting.
Without their presence you walked through the dark room slowly. You grabbed the remote, turning on the TV so they would know you were there, then collapsed on the couch. Keeping your eyes closed you listened to the pointless commercials as you tried to relax. No matter how tired you were, it was always hard to sleep in the apartment when you knew you were alone.
“There was an accident at the docks today. So far no casualties were reported, but all the staff for the companies using it have been kept to clear up the mess.”
Well that told you where Chris was. A late night at work on the docks. It would probably mean you were alone all night. A siren blared from the place they must be. You curled up trying not to think about how late their night would go… or how silent the apartment would feel without them.
Rhythmic thumping sounded from the direction of the docks. A sound you could almost equate to footsteps. It had to be the fatigue hitting you. The thumping was too loud to be someone’s steps. Plus you lived on the top floor. You moved to lie on your side, curling into a tight ball. The sounds continued. A siren blaring, followed by a thump.
The noise only grew louder. Cars screeching from speeding turns. A crash and police sirens. Of course the night you were alone the noise would be the worst. The silence in your apartment was painful, even the muffled words of the news casters were no help. You bit back a groan as another screeching car drove by your old building.
Chris chose this place. They wanted you to be able to see them if they worked late. It wasn’t possible to do from here. It was too high and the nights too dark. The idea at least helped calm you on the nights you felt the worst without them. More thumps, faster than the siren took to blare again. It was closer to someone running. Probably some weird piece of equipment used at the docks.
The noise of the night continued. Cars speeding. Horns honking. Screeches from a rushed turn. Police sirens. The dock sirens. Thump, thump, thump, thump. The strangely rhythmic thumps were easing your tired body. The empty words of the news. A commercial for some product you would never need or want. Then a change that jolted you out of your trance. A new set of blaring alarms, one in your building the other from the TV.
“This is an emergency alert. Something has been spotted near the docks. It is hard to describe. Towering taller than most buildings. The steps have been felt throughout the city. A number of people have already begun to evacuate. Please, to avoid panic, remain in your homes. Do not turn on any lights and make sure to-”
The broadcast cut out. You opened your eyes to face the cloth back of your couch. The blaring alarms continued. The cars screeched. The thumps that were too close to footsteps sped up again. You couldn’t believe this was real. Any move you made to escape would be more likely to have you meet this thing. It had to be close if it cut the broadcast to your apartment.
A strange light entered your apartment. It terrified you. Despite your better judgment you rolled onto your feet. Nearby you could see a glowing eye near the window to your room, the place you would normally be. The pupil wasn’t visible to you yet. It was strange that in this whole time you hadn’t realized the thumping was growing closer . Although nothing in your place would give you a sign of that when you’re curled up in a ball on the couch.
The entire world shifted as that eye moved. The being’s light coated the room. A bright neon shade of green. You couldn’t bring yourself to move a muscle as the reptilian pupil dilated. It swept back and forth over your apartment. At this point your only hope was staying still would hide you. The pupil appeared to focus on you before sweeping the room again. A twitch towards you before it was gone. You released the breath you were holding, maybe you were safe.
The relief died as a clawed hand crashed through the glass. A scream left your throat as you started to run. There was glass everywhere, but the hand pulled back. You were shaking as the hand hovered outside your wall of windows. You watched the being shake their hand, the wind from it forcing you to back away. That reminded you that moving was an option.
You stumbled back, slowly gaining the strength to run. The hand stopped shaking and you turned on your heel. You could hear the crash as the hand moved again. You managed to start running, but it was too late. The clawed fingers surrounded you on each side. At least you hoped they were fingers. Fingers could mean it might understand words, it might not hurt you.
Despite that faint hope you kept running. The claws moved closer until the palm slammed into your back. You stumbled a few steps more. The clawed fingers curled around you, trapping you in a cage. They grew closer and closer until you were pressed against the palm of this creature. You struggled against the overwhelming strength.
The hand you were in started to move. You screamed, desperate to get free. The being ignored them if they heard any. If it acted like this cause it saw you, what did it do to Chris? They were working at the dock… They should still be there.
You were pulled out of your apartment. In the cold night air your struggles stopped. You knew how high your building was, you weren’t hoping to die. The light from the being’s eyes washed over you. It blinded you, making it impossible to see their face before they pressed you to their chest. The beat beneath was panicked, at least if the being was human. You almost felt bad for them.
That bit of pity disappeared almost immediately. The massive being started to walk away, taking you from your monotonous life. As much as you’d begun to hate it, you didn’t want to be taken from the only person that cared about you. The only person you cared about. Tears fell from your eyes as the entire world blew past you.
From the spot they held you, it was easy enough to see the destruction the creature caused. Footsteps of craters that made roads unusable. Crushed cars, cracked rooftops, but not a single building that had significant damage. In fact your apartment might be the only one that was in danger. As you neared the docks, the lack of damage changed.
The ships were crushed. The actual piers were ruined. People were crowded away from where the craters of footsteps were left. The hand pressing you against them shifted until your view was blocked. You wouldn’t be able to see Chris... Your friend... Your family.
The crash of their weight hitting the water terrified you. Their hold was gentle. It didn’t match the destruction each step left behind. You had no idea what would come next. The water was all you heard besides their heart. The pounding next to you started to relax. Calming enough to sound like a normal person’s heart.
As much as you hated it, the warmth and beating of their heart calmed you. It made your eyelids start to droop. It sort of reminded you of the times Chris helped you calm down. Letting you listen to their heartbeat until you fell asleep. Whenever you were at their worst, the anxiety a pain too immense. You hoped they’d be ok. That they would survive the visit of this creature.
The next thing you knew clawed fingers were pressing you against a rough palm again. You were pulled through the air and set down on an open palm. All you could do is stare up at the creature who took you. Eyes glowing with a neon green and looking at you with… concern. Now you could sort of make out their face; it was sort of familiar. That familiarity couldn’t be real.
“You ok?” they asked. Their voice was monstrous. A growl on top of a growl. Except you recognized the hint of a human voice in it. You had been positive that you’d never hear it again.
“I-is it really you, Chris?” you whispered. A nod of the massive head. They had a coating of scales instead of skin. Reptilian eyes staring down with a light that was far less harsh than before. Almost warm. “How… what’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me instead of grabbing me?”
“Heard talking. Hurt me. Hurt you. Had to act.” Chris’s words sounded wrong. As though it was a struggle to make the words come out. “Words… hard. Can’t… make…”
“It’s hard to talk?” They nodded. “But you heard someone talking?” Another nod. “And they were going to hurt us both?” Another nod. “But-but why?
A growl came from them instead of words. A loud thumping came from behind them. You tried to look around, they moved you in the direction you tilted your head. Chris had a tail now, a long tail that stretched dozens of feet behind them. That thumping might have been most of what you heard the night before.
“Is it… because of what did this to you?” you asked. They moved you back to their eyes and nodded. A stiff, strong nod. The wind from the movement pushed you back on their hand just a bit. “Then… then you can’t go back to normal?”
“Don’t… know,” they said. There was a sound of pain in their voice. You were all they had. They were all you had. Your lives were tied together.
“What happens next?” A bit of fear was stuck in your heart. Whoever wanted them dead wanted you dead. It had to be some big company that wanted it. You couldn’t go back to your monotonous daily life. Did you even want that? Especially without them? What if they didn’t want you to stay? What if… what if they were going to just put you somewhere and hope for the best? You’d be a burden on them now.
“Stay together?”
The growl on top of a growl sounded terrified. You could say no. They’d try to find a way to save you. It was clear that would happen. Even like this, when you’d be something they had to take care of, they wanted you to be there. You nodded. That was all they needed to pull you close into a hug. Their heart pounded deafeningly below their chest of scaled skin.
Together the two of you would survive this strange change of pace. Together you could face the world.